The color we see on coins is very important for both grading and authentication. Please write a brief description of this coin's colors. What caused it?
The coin has a nice gold color except for those brown flecks near the rim and above the "1" and "9" in 1912. I believe they're called copper spots and are caused by a not fully mixed alloy.
Whenever I see red on a gold coin I have always believe that was a reaction of the copper in the alloy doing what copper does over time.
The brown looks more like a foreign material that got on the coin to me - not what are commonly called copper spots. What it is or how it got there, I have no idea, but I don't think they're copper spots.
Hardly anyone around here follows instructions. There is a good reason that we all should get into the habit of describing something we see on a coin to ourselves. It would eliminate a lot of guesses and train our minds to be critical. Let's use the guy who is older than dirt around here For example: GDJMSP, posted: "The brown looks more like a foreign material [with uneven borders, different intensity, and odd shapes on top of the surface] that got on the coin to me. Grandpa implied my words in brackets because he is not a novice - the members my quizzes are for. Now, anyone who guessed "spot" should look up definition #1 in the dictionary. Those ARE NOT SPOTS! What are they? Beats my five aces BUT this exact residue is often found on gold coins that come from the ocean or have been buried. Because of the reddish-brown color, I'm going to bet it is an iron residue.
......mmkay... the image of the coin in question appears to have an improperly mixed planchet which has its surface copper toned to a medium brown....
I happen to have owned,in the past, a few medals that were guilded brass that have had this same look when the guilding wore off.
There is always one. This is nonsense. At least @BadThad posted his opinion. Class clowns are one of the reasons I stopped posting quizzes.
Most spots on gold coins are copper spots. They are the result of a less than perfect mixing of the copper alloyed with gold. It turns brown, just like the copper in a bronze cent. The spots on this piece are odd, however. They don’t look like the usual copper spots I have seen. It looks like some foreign material was on the flan when the coin was struck. This leads the reason why some modern gold coins, which are supposed to be .999 gold, have red spots. Could it be something the mint used to wash the planchets that was not fully rinsed?
